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!@#$%! · 11.05.2016, 12:53 PM

d.sound-- i have some ideas as the answer to globalism

i don't believe that retrenching behind a moat like tesla said many pages back is the answer. this isn't the middle ages.

we live in a networked world. we can't put the cat back into the bag. the way to "win" is to become an efficient network operator. there are first-world countries that are getting ahead of the game in such an environment.

germany is one big example. germany is well connected with the global economy. and they're prospering instead of losing ground. why? they're huge exporters-- prosperity abroad is good for their industries.

why do the have such great industries? one big reason is their focus on high technology and quality free education. we have jobs in the u.s. that can't be filled because people lack the qualifications. and to get an education, you have to go into massive debt. this is fucked up. so we have a large uneducated workforce that longs for a return to the 1950s. this isn't possible.

the other thing is that germans have a social model of consensus where business, labor and government seek to collaborate for everyone's benefit. here we have business against government, business against labor, labor left hanging to fend for itself. it's supposed to be a free market but it's not. so, while the germans work together, we fight with each other.

germany's challenge if anything is to keep the population going up. they need immigrants, but qualified ones.

here in the u.s. we give foreign students a phd in science and then send them back home. as people have been saying for a long time, a green card should come stapled to your phd diploma. but we make it hard instead. and after 9/11 a lot of qualified people started going elsewhere instead of staying here after graduation-- places like singapore for example have been attracting a lot of scientists. when dubya banned stem cell research, singapore made leaps.

lastly, there are going to be people left behind in any transition and we need better social safety networks. republicans oppose this. democrats don't champion them enough. and everyone thinks we're creating mooches with "entitlements". so people applying for welfare, or food stamps or now medicaid are made to jump through a million hoops and shamed and their benefits can cease as severian said earlier at the drop of a hat.

here's an example: we have a german friend who is a bit of a boho guy, had a bunch of sidejobs as an a/v tech guy plus other gigs. then he got a letter from the government telling him that he was making too little money and they were going to start giving him extra income. so he was "put" on welfare without asking. i don't know how this is connected but he's now a full-time store manager and came to visit us this past summer during his month-long vacation.

this shows you that it's possible to have a social democracy and a strong welfare state and take care of the people while making massive profits. the problem is here in the USA we have come to believe that consensus is a dirty word, that government is evil, that business and labor cant' work together, that free education is a waste of money, that taxes ruin the economy, that the poor deserve shame and suffering, that only the rich are winners,etc etc

there's a lot more but basically yeah-- globalization has increased competition. which means we have to compete and not just wish for the past when europe was decimated and the us was the only large developed economy left. things are changing. but competition doesn't mean throwing regular people into the wood chipper while wall street gets rich.

the us is a center-right country though so it's hard to sell bernie sanders to the general public. but eventually that's going to have to be it. we either go that route or we become brazilified.

in the meantime hillary is our only choice to prevent a descent into barbarism at this point.

11.05.2016, 12:53 PM	#1551
!@#$%! invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: mars attacks Posts: 42,683	d.sound-- i have some ideas as the answer to globalism i don't believe that retrenching behind a moat like tesla said many pages back is the answer. this isn't the middle ages. we live in a networked world. we can't put the cat back into the bag. the way to "win" is to become an efficient network operator. there are first-world countries that are getting ahead of the game in such an environment. germany is one big example. germany is well connected with the global economy. and they're prospering instead of losing ground. why? they're huge exporters-- prosperity abroad is good for their industries. why do the have such great industries? one big reason is their focus on high technology and quality free education. we have jobs in the u.s. that can't be filled because people lack the qualifications. and to get an education, you have to go into massive debt. this is fucked up. so we have a large uneducated workforce that longs for a return to the 1950s. this isn't possible. the other thing is that germans have a social model of consensus where business, labor and government seek to collaborate for everyone's benefit. here we have business against government, business against labor, labor left hanging to fend for itself. it's supposed to be a free market but it's not. so, while the germans work together, we fight with each other. germany's challenge if anything is to keep the population going up. they need immigrants, but qualified ones. here in the u.s. we give foreign students a phd in science and then send them back home. as people have been saying for a long time, a green card should come stapled to your phd diploma. but we make it hard instead. and after 9/11 a lot of qualified people started going elsewhere instead of staying here after graduation-- places like singapore for example have been attracting a lot of scientists. when dubya banned stem cell research, singapore made leaps. lastly, there are going to be people left behind in any transition and we need better social safety networks. republicans oppose this. democrats don't champion them enough. and everyone thinks we're creating mooches with "entitlements". so people applying for welfare, or food stamps or now medicaid are made to jump through a million hoops and shamed and their benefits can cease as severian said earlier at the drop of a hat. here's an example: we have a german friend who is a bit of a boho guy, had a bunch of sidejobs as an a/v tech guy plus other gigs. then he got a letter from the government telling him that he was making too little money and they were going to start giving him extra income. so he was "put" on welfare without asking. i don't know how this is connected but he's now a full-time store manager and came to visit us this past summer during his month-long vacation. this shows you that it's possible to have a social democracy and a strong welfare state and take care of the people while making massive profits. the problem is here in the USA we have come to believe that consensus is a dirty word, that government is evil, that business and labor cant' work together, that free education is a waste of money, that taxes ruin the economy, that the poor deserve shame and suffering, that only the rich are winners,etc etc there's a lot more but basically yeah-- globalization has increased competition. which means we have to compete and not just wish for the past when europe was decimated and the us was the only large developed economy left. things are changing. but competition doesn't mean throwing regular people into the wood chipper while wall street gets rich. the us is a center-right country though so it's hard to sell bernie sanders to the general public. but eventually that's going to have to be it. we either go that route or we become brazilified. in the meantime hillary is our only choice to prevent a descent into barbarism at this point.
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